Retrospective study of functional outcomes and disability after non-ischaemic vascular causes of spinal cord dysfunction

Objective: Describe demographic characteristics, functional outcomes and disability following rehabilitation for non-ischemic vascular spinal cord dysfunction (SCDys).Design: Retrospective, open cohort, case series.Setting: Tertiary rehabilitation unit, Victoria, Australia.Participants: Patients with non-ischemic vascular SCDys admitted over a 21-year-period (01/01/1995–31/12/2015) were identified using International Classification of Diseases codes.Outcome Measures: Demographic characteristics, etiology, neurologic classification, length of stay (LOS), and complications. On admission and discharge, the following were collected: functional independence measure (FIM) motor subscale, details on bowel, bladder, mobility, living arrangement, and support services.Results: 36 patients (female 58%; mean age 69 ± 16 years) were identified. The main causes of non-ischemic vascular SCDys were epidural hematoma (39%), dural arteriovenous fistula (17%), and arteriovenous malformation (11%). 22 cases (61%) were iatrogenic. Most (86%) had incomplete paraplegia. Urinary tract infection was the most common complication (64%). Median LOS in rehabilitation was 68 days. Significant improvement in FIM motor scores was observed from admission (median 25, interquartile range [IQR] 20–38) to discharge (median 69, IQR 38–77) (P < 0.001). On discharge, 4 patients (11%) walked >100 m unaided, 6 (17%) walked >100 m with assistive device, 10 (28%) walked >10 m with assistive device, 15 (41%) were wheelchair dependent and 1 (3%) patient remained non-mobile. 20 patients (56%) were discharged home, 8 (22%) to nursing home, and 8 (22%) transferred to another hospital.Conclusion: Most patients returned home with significantly improved functional outcomes compared to rehabilitation admission, but with the majority having ongoing major disabilities based on FIM motor scores.     

胰肾联合移植长期存活的临床研究（附5例报告）

目的 提高糖尿病、糖尿病肾病患者的生活质量,方法 于1998-12/2000-01对5例糖尿病、糖尿病肾病患者施行了胰肾联合移植术,结果 5例患者肾功能恢复正常;其中2例患者分别于8wk,23wk发生急性排斥反应一次,经抗排斥治疗后逆转,2例术后2wk发生纯红再障（pure red cell aplasia,PRCA),1例手术后第15日供胰动脉血栓形成,切除胰腺,经1a以上观察,4例患者健康存活,胰肾功能良好。结论 胰肾联合移植是目前治疗糖尿病、糖尿病肾病最有效的手段。     

脑梗塞患者脂蛋白(A)水平与肾脏早期损害

为探讨脑梗塞患者脂蛋白（Ａ）水平与肾脏早期损害的关系,应用ＥＬＩＳＡ法及化学显色终点法分别检测４０例梗塞患者血清ＬＰ（Ａ）水平和尿氨基葡萄糖苷酶活力。结果表明,脑梗塞组血ＬＰ（Ａ）及ＮＡＧ均明显高于正常对照组,且ＬＰ（Ａ）值与尿ＮＡＧ活力呈正相关。     

PRK治疗RK后残余近视散光二年疗效分析

目的： 评价准分子激光屈光性角膜切削术治疗放射状角膜切开术后残余近视散光的预测性、稳定性和安全性。方法： 对５２ 眼 Ｒ Ｋ 术后残余近视散光患者行再次 Ｐ Ｒ Ｋ 治疗, 并连续随访两年以上。术前残余球镜屈光度－ ３７５±１３２ Ｄ,残余柱镜屈光度－ ２３６±１２５ Ｄ, 最佳矫正视力均≥０８。结果： 术后 ６ 个月球镜屈光度－ ０３２±０２４ Ｄ, 柱镜屈光度－ ０７８±０５２ Ｄ, 裸眼视力≥１０ 者４６ 眼 （８８４６％ ）, 术后 ２４ 个月球镜屈光度－ ０３７±０４２ Ｄ, 柱镜屈光度－ ０５６±０３７ Ｄ, 裸眼视力≥１０ 者 ４２ 眼 （８０７６％ ）。最佳矫正视力下降 １ 行以上者 ３ 眼 （５７６％ ）, 实际球镜矫正度与预期矫正度相差１０ Ｄ 以内 ５０ 眼 （９０１５％ ）, 柱镜相差 １０ Ｄ以内５１ 眼 （９８０７％ ）。结论： Ｐ Ｒ Ｋ 治疗 Ｒ Ｋ 术后残余近视散光的两年随访结果表明, 该方法预测性强、稳定性好和安全性高, 特别在矫正残余散光方面, 其结果令人满意。     

CPCCOEt, a noncompetitive metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 antagonist, inhibits receptor signaling without affecting glutamate binding

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are a family of G protein-coupled receptors characterized by a large, extracellular N-terminal domain comprising the glutamate-binding site. In the current study, we examined the pharmacological profile and site of action of the non-amino-acid antagonist 7-hydroxyiminocyclopropan[b]chromen-1a-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (CPCCOEt). CPCCOEt selectively inhibited glutamate-induced increases in intracellular calcium at human mGluR1b (hmGluR1b) with an apparent IC50 of 6.5 microM while having no agonist or antagonist activity at hmGluR2, -4a, -5a, -7b, and -8a up to 100 microM. Schild analysis indicated that CPCCOEt acts in a noncompetitive manner by decreasing the efficacy of glutamate-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis without affecting the EC50 value or Hill coefficient of glutamate. Similarly, CPCCOEt did not displace [3H]glutamate binding to membranes prepared from mGluR1a-expressing cells. To elucidate the site of action, we systematically exchanged segments and single amino acids between hmGluR1b and the related subtype, hmGluR5a. Substitution of Thr815 and Ala818, located at the extracellular surface of transmembrane segment VII, with the homologous amino acids of hmGluR5a eliminated CPCCOEt inhibition of hmGluR1b. In contrast, introduction of Thr815 and Ala818 at the homologous positions of hmGluR5a conferred complete inhibition by CPCCOEt (IC50 = 6.6 microM), i.e., a gain of function. These data suggest that CPCCOEt represents a novel class of G protein-coupled receptor antagonists inhibiting receptor signaling without affecting ligand binding. We propose that the interaction of CPCCOEt with Thr815 and Ala818 of mGluR1 disrupts receptor activation by inhibiting an intramolecular interaction between the agonist-bound extracellular domain and the transmembrane domain.     

The N-terminal domain of gamma-aminobutyric Acid(B) receptors is sufficient to specify agonist and antagonist binding.

The recently identified gamma-aminobutyric acid type B receptors (GABA(B)Rs) share low sequence similarity with the metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors. Like the mGlu receptors, the N-terminal extracellular domain (NTED) of GABA(B)Rs is proposed to be related to bacterial periplasmic binding proteins (PBPs). However, in contrast to the mGlu receptors, the GABA(B)Rs lack a cysteine-rich region that links the PBP-like domain to the first transmembrane domain. This cysteine-rich region is necessary for the PBP-like domain of mGlu receptors to bind glutamate. To delimit the ligand-binding domain of GABA(B)Rs, we constructed a series of chimeric GABA(B)R1/mGluR1 and truncated GABA(B)R1 receptor mutants. We provide evidence that despite the lack of a cysteine-rich region, the NTED of GABA(B)Rs contains all of the structural information that is necessary and sufficient for ligand binding. Moreover, a soluble protein corresponding to the NTED of GABA(B)Rs reproduces the binding pharmacology of wild-type receptors. This demonstrates that the ligand-binding domain of the GABA(B)Rs can correctly fold when dissociated from the transmembrane domains.     

A simple method to transfer plasmid DNA into neuronal primary cultures: functional expression of the mGlu5 receptor in cerebellar granule cells.

We describe a method to transfer cDNA into neuronal primary cultures with a commercialised cationic lipid, Transfast. Cultures were transfected at a rate of about 5% with green fluorescent protein (GFP) cDNA. Comparing Transfast to other transfection reagents, we found this compound to be the most efficient. GFP-transfected mouse cerebellar granule cells displayed normal whole-cell voltage-sensitive and unitary big K+ channel currents. We also used this transfection method with success to transfer GFP cDNA into primary cultures of striatum and colliculus. Transfast was then used to cotransfect cultured cerebellar cells with GFP cDNA, in conjunction with cDNA coding for the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 5 (mGlu5 receptor). Ninety percent of the cells expressing GFP also expressed mGlu5 receptor. Though neurones were best transfected one day after plating, they still expressed both GFP and mGlu5 receptor proteins 2 weeks after plating, i.e. after full differentiation. A functional test of the expressed mGlu5 receptor was thus performed in GFP-transfected neurones. Stimulation of mGlu5 receptor induced single big K+ channel activity, as it was the case for the native mGlu1 receptor. This indicated that the transfected mGlu5 receptor plasmid was functionally expressed and that both mGlu1 and mGlu5 receptors may share common coupling mechanisms to big K+ channels in neurones.     

VEGF,PDGF和MVD在喉癌中的表达及临床意义

目的 探讨血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF),血小板来源的内皮生长因子(platelet-derived endothelial growth factor,PDGF),Ⅷ因子测定的微血管密度(microvessel density,MVD)与喉癌微血管生成、临床分期和病理分级的关系。方法 应用免疫组织化学LASB法检测1998～1999年40例喉鳞状细胞癌和11例喉正常粘膜VEGF、PDGF、微血管密度的表达情况,结合临床相关因素进行统计分析。结果 喉鳞状细胞癌中VEGF表达在肿瘤T分级、临床分期、淋巴结转移和病理分级中有统计学意义(P<0.05)。PDGF计数标识指数与病人肿瘤T分级、临床分期中差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。MVD测定均数在早、晚期分组中有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论 喉癌的发展、侵袭需要持续的新生血管,本实验提示肿瘤增殖与理论相符,VEGF、PDGF和MVD可作为临床预测重要参考指标。     

眼镜蛇毒的化学成分研究进展

眼镜蛇毒具有广泛的生物学活性。文章综述了近年来眼镜蛇毒中研究较为深入的一些组分的分离提纯、理化性质及其生物活性等方面的研究进展。